


Rising Waters

by Rhiannon1199



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Half-Altmer, Half-Breton, Poverty, Riften, Thieves Guild Questline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 09:57:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19903870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhiannon1199/pseuds/Rhiannon1199
Summary: Catrin Merrick is used to people avoiding her. Half-Breton and half-Altmer, she’s spent her life not belonging anywhere, especially where she grew up in Whiterun. When her mother is killed fighting for the Empire, Catrin knows she must find a way to fend for herself and her adopted brother Sigurd alone. She sets her sights on what’s beyond the city walls - and finds more than she bargained for.Thrown into Riften’s criminal underworld, Catrin frees a dark part of herself that thrives on her new life of adrenaline-fuelled heists and free-flowing coin. But the Guild has its problems and so does she, not least her developing feelings for a certain thieving redhead. Can Catrin stay afloat, or will she drown in rising waters?





	Rising Waters

Bjorlam was ready to go when we got to the stables. I turned to Sigurd, who was looking down at the floor, his eyes glazed over. 

‘This is it,’ I sighed. ‘Look, I know you’re worried, but we need the money.’

‘What for?’ He asked. 

‘The farm!’

‘Nazeem’s already found a new tenant.’

‘What?’ I gasped. ‘Who?’

‘I think he’s called Wilmuth.’ Sigurd looked up at me and huffed. ‘I’m scared, Catrin. We’ve already lost Ma. I don’t want to lose my only family left.’ 

‘You’re not going to,’ I replied, placing my hands on his shoulders. ‘I’ll be back before you know it with a sack full of gold. In the meantime, you keep working hard at the store so Belethor doesn’t try and kick you out. Any trouble, send me a letter.’ 

‘I’m going to miss you.’

I pulled him into a warm hug, holding back tears. ‘I’ll miss you too little brother. Take care of yourself.’ 

‘Take care.’

I didn’t look back when I headed over to the carriage. Putting on a brave face was easy, but suppressing the thoughts going through my head wasn’t. What if Sigurd was right, and I ran into trouble? What would become of him with me gone?

‘Riften?’ said Bjorlam.

I nodded, climbing up into the carriage. ‘Riften.’ 

Bjorlam tapped the horse and we set off down the road. I swayed in the back, listening to the sounds of the night, lost in my thoughts. I counted the days since the news of Mother’s death - five weeks as of tomorrow. Nazeem had wasted no time in clearing us out of Chillfurrow Farm when he didn’t get his rent on time, despite my pleas and promise that he’d have it two weeks later. 

‘So,’ said Bjorlam. ‘Why Riften then? Strange choice for a young lady looking for work. I’d have thought you’d go for Solitude.’

‘I can’t afford the rent prices in Solitude,’ I answered. ‘Or in Markarth. And Windhelm’s no place to find work these days for a woman of my...background.’

‘I see,’ he said. ‘Well you be careful there. The streets of Riften aren’t safe even in daylight. There’s more corruption in that city than there is water in the canals.’ 

‘I’ll keep out of trouble.’ 

He went quiet again, and I was glad; I was in no mood for chatter. I wondered when I would next hear Sigurd’s voice. Leaving Whiterun itself wasn’t much of a loss to me - I had never felt I belonged there, growing up being bullied by other children for my strange appearance and travellers giving me wary glances. Not quite Man, not quite Mer. Where did I belong? 

I pulled my hood up and rested my head against the bend of my arm, trying to quieten my mind.

*****

I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes it was bright outside, and Bjorlam was shaking me gently. I blinked and shielded my eyes from the sun. 

‘Welcome to Riften, traveller,’ said the stable master with a smile as he lead Bjorlam’s horses to the water trough. I let Bjorlam help me down from the carriage and took in my surroundings. Amber leaves shimmered on every treetop as a gentle late summer breeze sent them shivering on their branches. The scent of stagnant water wafted my way from beyond the city gates. 

‘Remember what I told you,’ Bjorlam said. ‘This is not a place for the faint-hearted. Keep your head down and don’t carry any valuables in public and you will be fine.’ 

‘I know,’ I replied, offering him a weak smile. ‘Thank you, Bjorlam.’

‘Good luck.’

I stepped towards the city gates with an eager stride when one of the guards blocked my way, his eyes narrowed beneath his helmet. 

‘Stop!’ he ordered. ‘If you want to come in, you’ll have to pay the visitor’s tax.’

‘Tax?’ I said. ‘What for?’ 

‘For the privilege of entering the city,’ he snapped. ‘Cough up or clear out.’ 

I glared at the guard. ‘This is clearly a scam.’

He chuckled. ‘Scam or not, I’m not letting you in ‘til I see my money. One hundred septims. Now.’

‘A hundred septims?!’ I exclaimed. ‘But - ‘

‘What part of ‘now’ don’t you understand, outsider?’ He growled. I gulped as his hand went to his blade. ‘Pay up or I’ll send you on your way.’

‘Alright!’ I counted out a hundred, each one more painful to part with than the last - I’d only brought two hundred with me to begin with, the last of our money back home. That wouldn’t even get me a week’s lodgings. I handed the money over and the guard stepped aside.

‘Welcome to Riften, traveller.’

I scowled at him. ‘Bastard,’ I muttered, stepping through the gate at last. 

The city was about what I’d expected it to be - damp, stinking and wretched. In a way, that was exactly what I wanted; deprivation meant there was work to be done. 

‘Oi,’ came a low hiss. I flinched and met eyes with a dark-haired man in steel armour who lurked by one of the houses. ‘Who are you and what are you doing in Riften?’ 

I narrowed my eyes defiantly at him, secretly wondering if coming here had been a bad idea after all. ‘What business is it of yours?’

‘Maven Black-Briar is the most influential person in this town, and I’m her eyes on the street. That makes it my business. I won’t ask you again. Who are you and why are you here?’

‘I’m just a traveller,’ I answered. ‘Looking for work.’

He frowned down at me. ‘Where you from?’

‘Whiterun.’

‘Huh,’ he snorted. ‘Can’t help your kind when it comes to work, softgut. I suggest you stick to laundry and serving drinks and keeping your mouth shut.’

‘Hey, Maul!’ came a sly voice as a man in a blue jacket approached us. He flashed me a grin, his eyes bright and gleaming. ‘Give the poor lass a break would you?’ He turned to me and, strangely, gave a short, courteous bow.

‘Erm...who are you?’ I said.

‘You can call me Brynjolf, lass,’ he answered. ‘And you are?’

‘Catrin,’ I answered uncertainly, folding my arms. 

‘Clear out, Maul,’ he barked at the other man, who shuffled off mumbling under his breath. ‘Well, Catrin, I can’t help but notice you seem to be a little light in the pockets.’ 

I scowled at him. ‘What would you know about my wealth?’ 

Brynjolf chuckled. ‘There isn’t a great deal to know, is there? Now, a pretty girl like yourself shouldn’t have to dress in farmer’s rags, so I have a...proposition.’

‘I’m dressed in farmer’s ‘rags’ because I _am_ a farmer,’ I drawled. ‘And don’t think you’re going to take me for a fool. I can spot a crook a mile off.’

‘Aye, that you can,’ he said. ‘Spotted that shakedown outside the gates, didn’t you?’

I stared at him in disbelief. ‘Was that...was that your idea?!’ 

He shrugged. ‘Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Think of it as an investment.’

‘In what?’ I hissed.

‘In your future,’ he replied. ‘If you can show me you want a future, that is.’

I huffed. ‘And what would you have me do?’

Brynjolf grinned again, pulling me into one of the gated alleys between the houses. ‘All I want you to do is wait until I’ve distracted everyone, steal a ring from Madesi’s lockbox, and plant it in Brand-Shei’s pocket.’

‘What?!’ I exclaimed. ‘You want me to frame - !’ 

‘Shh!’ He grabbed me and closed his hand over my mouth despite my protests, pulling me into the shadows on his side of the alley. I wriggled to escape from his grip but it only tightened on me as a guard wandered past, oblivious. ‘Now, that kind of foolishness is what gets people caught. If you want to spend the rest of your life digging holes or scrubbing dishes, by all means go ahead. But I could make you rich, lass. Just trust me.’ 

He finally released me and I stumbled away from him, furious. ‘You can forget it!’ I strode out into the street, ignoring the laugh that followed me.

‘Come see me when you change your mind.’


End file.
